Battleship Carnot

The Carnot battleship was one of the first battleships built in France at the end of the 19th century in response to the expansion of the Royal Navy and the German Navy.

Launch and design:

After the lost Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871, France began to rebuild and structure its army. Shortly after the war the planning for the army began, only a few years later the French navy began to modernize and to build new ships.

During this process the plans for several early battleships were developed. Up to this time France had no experience in building such ships, but the technical development in Great Britain and the German Empire forced the Navy to build such ships as well.

Based on the experience of the Marceau class, the construction of the two battleships Brennus and Charles Martel began in 1884. However, these were abandoned by Admiral Théophile Aube, since the technical development already brought many innovations, which were to be introduced into the new ships. For this purpose, the construction plans were revised and adapted.

In 1888 the construction of the Brennus began, which was regarded as the first battleship built in France.

When the Naval Defense Act was enacted in Great Britain in 1889 and 8 battleships were released for construction, the French Naval Ministry was forced to enact the Naval Statute in 1890, which resulted in the construction of 24 battleships and other smaller warships. The first phase of the programme included the construction of 4 battleships based on the plans of the Brennus. On December 24, 1889, the basic requirements were set by the Ministry. Thus the displacement should amount to approximately 14.000 tons, the main guns should have a caliber of 340 mm and the armour should be up to 450 mm. 5 naval architects then submitted their designs for the new ships, with the Commission finally agreeing on the design by Victor Saglio, who was also one of the signatories to the Statute Naval and also submitted a design.

Due to the interference of the French parliament, which particularly criticized the high expenditures, the plans had to be changed and the displacement could finally only amount to a maximum of 12.000 tons in order to save money. After the adaptation of the construction plans, the construction of 5 battleships was finally decided on September 10, 1890.

With the Carnot, the designer oriented himself to the plans of the Brennus already presented earlier, but adapted the plans to the new requirements. The ship had a length of 114 metres, a width of 21,4 metres, a draught of 8,36 metres and a displacement of 11.954 tonnes. In contrast to the Charles Martel battleship, whose plans were also submitted to the Commission, the Carnot did not have two heavy military masts, but two much lighter masts. Also the superstructures were less, lighter and the deck between the masts was missing. Nevertheless the ship was heavier and could not sail as stable as other warships.

The propulsion was provided by two vertical triple-cylinder triple expansion engines, each driving one propeller. The power required for this was provided by 24 water-tube boilers housed in 4 boiler rooms. The target output was 16.300 hp and the maximum speed 17,8 knots.

Contrary to the requirement for a 340 mm calibre armament, only two 305 mm calibre guns were mounted in individual turrets on the Carnot. In addition, two 274 mm calibre guns were mounted in a single turret on each side of the ship. Further armament consisted of 8 x 138,6 mm guns, 8 x 65 mm guns, 12 x 47 mm guns and 8 x 37 mm guns. Also 4 torpedo tubes were installed, of which 2 were fixed in the bow and the other 2 on platforms on the deck.

The armour was made of nickel steel which was up to 460 mm thick on the belt to protect the ammunition and boiler rooms in particular. The two main turrets were protected with 380 mm thick armour, the other turrets with up to 10 mm.

The Carnot was launched in July 1894 and put into service in July 1897.

Drawing of the battleship Carnot

History of Carnot:

After commissioning and testing, the Carnot was sent to Crete with the Jauréguiberry and Charles Martel battleships to support the international squadrons of Great Britain, Russia, Austria-Hungary, the German Empire and Italy during the Greek uprising that lasted from 1897 to 1898.

The ship then switched between the Mediterranean and Atlantic squadrons, carrying out several manoeuvres and exercises.

In 1902 the ship was assigned to the reserve fleet of the Mediterranean squadron together with other older battleships and cruisers. In the following years these ships were reactivated for a short time of the year to participate in maneuvers when newer ships were docked for maintenance.

In 1909, the Mediterranean squadron was reorganized, after the new ships of the République and Liberté class were put into service and a second squadron could be built, to which also the Carnot was assigned. In 1911 the battleships of the Danton class followed and a third squadron with the home port Brest was built, whereby the older ships were pulled together in the now third squadron.

Battleship Carnot

Use in war:

When the First World War broke out in Europe, the Carnot lay together with the Charles Martel in the port of Brest. The two ships were equipped with a hull crew and kept operational, but only until the new Normandy class ships were completed and could replace the two ships.

The Carnot then remained in the harbour as a reserve until the end of the war, but was not used in the war.

Whereabouts:

After the First World War, the ship was removed from the register of warships in 1922 and sold and scrapped in the same year.